This invention pertains to apparatus and methods for manufacturing buttons and button medallions, as well as to the buttons and button medallions themselves.
For the purposes of this invention, the term xe2x80x9cbuttonxe2x80x9d is used to describe a multi-component assembly as shown in FIGS. 1, 1A, and 1B. A flexible laminate 1, which normally includes a sheet of artwork 3 bonded to a protective transparent film 5, is overlaid on a domed shell 7. However, it is not necessary that the artwork 3 and transparent film 5 be bonded to each other. As used in the context of the present invention, the term xe2x80x9claminatexe2x80x9d includes artwork and transparent films that are both separated pieces and bonded pieces. The laminate 1 has a skirt portion 11 that overhangs the free edge 13 of the shell 7. A formed back 9, which is usually made of steel, is placed against the shell in a manner that tucks the skirt 11 of the laminate around the free edge 13 of the shell. The shell is crimped around its free edge against an outer frusto-conical wall 15 of the back 9, thereby forming a wall 19 of the shell and assembling the button 17. The finished button 17 has a three dimensional appearance that enhances the visual appeal of the artwork 3. It will be noted that the shell wall 19 is frusto-conical in shape, and also that the laminate skirt is tucked between the shell wall 19 and the back wall 15. Those two structural features are characteristic of buttons.
Machines for manufacturing buttons 17 are well known. For example, my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,829,662; 4,867,013; and Des. 308,529 show exemplary button presses capable of high speed production. Other apparatus for making buttons may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 966,778; 988,478; 1,196,076; 3,661,039; 3,662,626; 3,662,627; 3,698,065; 3,795,036; and 4,696,086.
The Parisian Novelty Company of Chicago, Ill., manufactures a pneumatically operated button assembly machine having a C-shaped frame. The Parisian machine includes two work stations in the form of separate sets of dies. The die sets are mounted on a turntable that is indexable through approximately 90 degrees by means of a manually gripped handle to place the correct die set under a reciprocable ram. The C-shaped frame requires a heavy and complicated cast metal structure with intricate machining.
The Technical Products Company of Hubertus, Wis., markets a button assembly machine in which two sets of dies are mounted on a slide. The slide is reciprocable to place the desired die set under a ram. Another Technical Products machine has two die sets arranged in a stack. The stack is invertible to locate the desired die set directly under the ram. Both Technical Product machines have C-shaped frames.
The Instant Buttons Machine Manufacturing Company of Hamden, Conn., markets a semi-automatic button machine having an H-shaped frame. Two sets of dies are mounted on a slide that reciprocates to place the desired set under a ram. An artwork cutout device is included as part of the machine frame. That is a disadvantage, because if either a cutout or an assembly component fails, the entire process is compromised. In addition, production is less than optimum because the machine can be used only for cutting or button making at one time, which prevents simultaneous operation of the cutting and assembly functions by different persons. Another drawback of the Instant Buttons machine is that the handle for operating the ram falls outside of the machine base. Consequently, the entire machine tends to tip over with every handle stroke.
By way of further background, the term xe2x80x9cmedallionxe2x80x9d historically meant a thin flat disk bearing artwork usually achieved by engraving. The medallion was usually set into a shallow recess in the body of a trophy, medal, or other award assembly and bonded there by adhesive means. Looking at FIGS. 2, 2A, and 2B, reference numeral 30 indicates any of a wide variety of conventional trophies with which medallions were commonly used. The trophy 30 had a shallow standard-sized circular recess with a flat seat 36. The diameter of the seat 36 was one inch or two inches; in European trophies the corresponding diameters were 25 millimeters and 50 millimeters, respectively. Reference numeral 32 indicates a medallion that fit within the trophy recess. The recess located the medallion 32 relative to the other features of the trophy 30 and also covered the medallion raw edge 38. Covering the medallion edge 38 was important for aesthetic purposes. The medallion gave a customized appearance to an otherwise generic award such as the trophy 30. However, due to engraving limitations, the prior medallions 32 were no more than flat disks, as mentioned, usually bearing some simple generic artwork. The flat prior medallion thus lacked a rich appearance and tended to diminish the overall image of the trophy.
The common availability of desktop publishing, together with the proliferation of myriads of colorful clipart and artistic fonts, enables any button maker to incorporate colorful customized artwork to commemorate any event worthy of an award. However, buttons 17 (FIG. 1B) have not been used to embellish trophies and awards because the incorporated recesses are too shallow to hide the thick unattractive button edges and were not of a size that would fit the standardized recesses in awards components. FIG. 2C illustrates the incompatibility of buttons and awards. In FIG. 2C, a button 17 is shown placed in the recess of a trophy 30. The button edge 42 projects above the front surface 44 of the trophy, which is unacceptable from an appearance standpoint. The fact that the button edge 42 is above the trophy surface 44 also makes it difficult to accurately center the button on the seat 36. Further, the relatively great distance between the trophy seat and the button formed back 9 makes it difficult to adhere the button to the seat.
Thus, even though several different button making machines are available, there nevertheless exists room for improvement to them. Further, it is desirable to adapt the three-dimensional characteristics of buttons to medallions.
In accordance with the present invention, a universal assembly machine is provided that is capable of manually manufacturing buttons on a production basis. This is accomplished by apparatus that includes a die table that is rotatably indexable about a column of a box frame to locate a selected one of two sets of dies under a reciprocable ram.
The die table is supported by a base that is part of the machine box frame. The die table is indexable about a center column that upstands from the base. A crown is attached to the tops of the center column and an end column. A shifter post has one end joined to the die table and is closely spaced to the frame center column. Consequently, indexing the die table about the center column causes the shifter post to travel in an arc about the center column. Cutouts in the die table contact the end column to accurately locate the die table at its two index positions.
The ram is guided in the frame crown for reciprocating along a vertical axis. Guidance of the ram is by guide elements passing through guide holes in the crown and fixed in a ram plate on the underside of the crown. The ram plate is further guided by one or both of the end column and the center column. One or more ram springs bias the ram plate toward the underside of the crown. There are a pair of holes in the ram plate on opposite sides of the vertical axis.
Fastened to the ram plate is one end face of an inner plug. A second end face of the inner plug is concave. An outer ring is slidable and rotatable on an outer diameter of the inner plug. An internal shoulder on the outer ring is contactable with an external shoulder of the inner plug. A pair of pins is pressed into a first end face of the outer ring. The pins extend toward the ram plate. There is a clearance between the free ends of the pins and the ram plate when the ram plate is retracted against the crown.
First and second fingers are pressed in and jut outwardly from the outer periphery of the ram outer ring. The fingers closely straddle the frame center column and the die table shifter post when the die table is at both of its index positions.
On the opposite ends of the die table are mounted two sets of dies. The first set is a pickup die that comprises a cylindrical pickup die pedestal fastened at one end to the die table. The opposite end of the pickup die pedestal is shaped to support the inside of a button shell. An outer ring is slidable over the pickup die pedestal. The outer ring has an internal shoulder that is biased against an external shoulder of the pickup die by one or more springs acting against the die table.
The second set of dies comprises a crimp die having a crimp die pedestal that is fastened to the die table. An outer ring is slidable over the crimp die pedestal. A spring force biases the crimp die outer ring such that shoulders on the crimp die pedestal and outer ring abut. The upper face of the crimp die pedestal has a counterbore.
To operate the universal assembly machine, a handle that is pivotally connected to the crown is initially pivoted to a ready position. In that position, the ram spring biases the ram plate against the frame crown and away from the die table. A button shell is placed dome upward on the pickup die pedestal. An artwork laminate that is to be assembled to the shell is placed in a counterbore in the pickup die outer ring above the shell. The die table is indexed to place the pickup die under the ram. The shifter post contacts the first finger on the ram outer ring and locates the outer ring in a pickup mode such that the pins in the outer ring are not aligned with the holes in the ram plate. The outer ring second finger is then adjacent the frame center column. The ram outer ring is positively held in the pickup mode by the cooperation of both fingers with the frame center column and the shifter post.
The handle is pivoted in a pickup stroke to a working position. Doing so causes the handle to engage the ram plate and advance the ram downwardly toward the pickup die. The ram plate advances through the initial clearance with the pins. After the ram plate contacts the pins, the ram plate, acting through the ram outer ring, forces the pickup die outer ring downwardly against the spring force in the pickup die outer ring. Simultaneously, the ram inner plug and a cylindrical inner surface of the outer ring form the laminate to conform to the shape of the shell. At the end of the pickup stroke, the laminate is fully formed over the shell and is held, together with the shell, by friction in the ram outer ring. There is a skirt of the laminate overhanging the free edge of the shell. Reverse pivoting of the handle to the ready position enables the ram to retract, with the shell and laminate held by friction in the ram outer ring. A formed button back having a frustoconical outer wall is placed on the crimp die pedestal.
The die table is then indexed about the frame center column to place the crimp die under the ram. Rotating the die table causes the shifter post to contact the second finger in the ram outer ring and rotate the outer ring to a crimp mode such that the pins in the ram outer ring become aligned with the holes in the ram plate. When the outer ring is in the crimp mode, the second finger is adjacent the shifter post, and the first finger is adjacent the frame center column. Pivoting the handle advances the ram in a crimp stroke. The laminate and shell advance toward the button back. Advancing the ram first causes the laminate skirt to bend over the free edge of the shell and to tuck between the shell and the frusto-conical outer wall of the formed back. Continued pivoting of the handle crimps the artwork and shell rim against the frusto-conical outer wall of the button back. Upon reverse pivoting of the handle, the ram retracts to expose the assembled button.
A further feature of the invention is that the universal assembly machine is exceptionally stable during operation. One reason for the stability is that the frame base is long enough to underlie the entire handle when the handle is pivoted to its working position. Consequently, there is no tendency for the machine to tip during operation. As a related reason, all the machine components are completely over the base during operation of the handle.
The machine of the present invention is also capable of manufacturing buttons having flat backs. The same machine components and operations are used as described previously with but one exception. Because of the difference in height between the prior formed back 9 with the frusto-conical outer wall 15 and a flat back, a different crimp die pedestal is required. Alternately, the same crimp die pedestal can be used with an adapter that compensates for the different heights of the formed and flat backs. The skirt of the laminate of the completed button is tucked between the periphery of the flat back and a frusto-conical wall of the shell, as is characteristic of buttons.
Further in accordance with the present invention, a button medallion is manufacturable using the machine of the invention. The button medallion has a three-dimensional appearance that is far richer than prior flat medallions. The button medallion is composed of flexible artwork laminate, a shell, and a flat back. The manufacturing process begins with the manufacture of a button with a flat back. However, after the crimp stroke, the flat back button is transferred to the pickup die. The machine die table is again indexed to place the pickup die under the ram. The ram is advanced in a third press stroke such that the ram inner plug contacts the periphery of the flat back button and forces the frusto-conical wall of the shell against the pickup die pedestal. The result is that the frusto-conical wall of the shell forms inwardly over against the back and comes to lie in a flat plane. The finished product is a three dimensional button medallion that can be bonded to a trophy or the like with adhesive in the manner of prior medallions and whose outside edge is thin enough to be substantially hidden in the trophy recess.
The method and apparatus of the invention, using a box frame and a die table that is rotatably indexable about a column of the frame, thus manufactures buttons in an economical and efficient manner. Buttons with flat backs and button medallions are also manufacturable using the machine of the invention by making only a minor adaptation to one of the machine dies.
Other advantages, benefits, and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the invention.